Palestinian families reject Israeli court's deal to delay evictions from east Jerusalem homes

Palestinian families facing eviction from their homes in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah have rejected a deal proposed by an Israeli court that would have delayed their evictions but seen temporary ownership of their houses granted to an Israeli settler group.

The four families, who would have had to pay rent to the settlers for 15 years under the deal, rejected it on Tuesday because of their "belief in the justice of our cause and our right to our homes and our homeland," according to a statement quoted by The Associated Press. The agreement would have given them "protected tenant" status, but meant they had to accept settler ownership of their homes, at least temporarily.

In the statement, the families said the proposed deal forced them to "choose between our own dispossession or submitting to an oppressive agreement." Theirs is one of a number of cases being fought in Israeli courts by Palestinian residents in Jerusalem who are being threatened with eviction by settler organizations.